


of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower

by deeeranged



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Fluff, M/M, Pure Unadulterated Fluff, Tattoos, Tsundere Gavin Reed, enamored nines, only mentioned violence, sickeningly sweet descriptions of tattoos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:54:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28147923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deeeranged/pseuds/deeeranged
Summary: Gavin shivered.Nines smirked.“Detective, I never thought you could be so…soft.”----------Gavin has a tattoo and Nines isn't sure how to feel about it
Relationships: Upgraded Connor | RK900 & Gavin Reed, Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed
Comments: 9
Kudos: 159





	of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower

**Author's Note:**

> there are so many other things i should be doing/writing/studying but this still happened so
> 
> this is an apology for being such a loser about updating my other fic

A dead body. One of the worst Nines had ever seen.

Which was saying a lot.

It had been five months since his activation, but only one since his actual deviation. In that time he had seen all the horrors of Detroit crime. However, while experienced with violence and gore, Nines was a newcomer in _feelings_.

Or, as Detective Reed had so eloquently put it: an “Emotion Virgin”

Needless to say, he wanted to get “The Case of Miss Helen’s Missing Head” over and done with as soon as physically possible. Which is why he took it upon himself to arrive at Gavin’s apartment an hour earlier than usual. Hopefully the detective wouldn’t be too irked about going to work early.

It wasn’t until he knocked that Nines realized that Gavin might still be asleep, understandably. It was five o’clock in the morning after all. After a brief consideration of his partner’s sleeping habits, wondering if he should perhaps let Gavin sleep, Nines decided on his next course of action.

And knocked louder.

To his delight, a shout emanated from inside the apartment, sounding more like angry grumbling than any actual word in the English language. Ever the efficient android, Nines took the response as an invitation to come in.

He had hardly taken a step through the door when he spotted a small shape in front of him, lit only by the soft morning light peeking through the windows.

A cat, fluffy and grey, considered Nines with calculating eyes. The android himself had frozen halfway through the door, an equally judgmental expression on his face.

After a few moments, the cat stood abruptly, apparently satisfied with its investigation, and slinked off into the shadows.

Nines took a moment of careful thought before fully entering the apartment.

The inside of Gavin’s home reflected much of the man himself. Books stacked neatly on a shelf above a desk covered in papers, pens, and empty water bottles. A good quality couch with a blanket thrown haphazardly over the side. The kitchen contained little else besides a clean litter box and dirty dishes in the sink.

Nines took it upon himself to inspect all of this, wondering how he had never been inside Gavin’s apartment before.

A thump came from down a dark hallway, followed by a muffled curse. Nines followed the noise curiously.

The struggling sounds seemed to be coming through a door slightly ajar, casting a sliver of light into the hallway. The android approached carefully, before knocking. 

“Yeah, come in.” Gavin grunted, obviously wrestling with something. Pushing open the door, Nines was startled by the sight before him.

Gavin stood in the middle of what looked like his bedroom, stumbling around with a shirt half-removed and stuck around his head.

With a final tug, the shirt was freed, the momentum causing Gavin to slam into a dresser he had been using as support. The detective cursed, rubbing his hip. The sight of the sleepy man cursing at a piece of furniture, hair sticking up every which way made Nines feel....something that he wasn’t willing to examine at that moment.

Gavin finally turned to face the doorway.

“Tina, you know you don’t have to knock, it’s not like I— Nines!” Shocked, a wide-eyed Gavin hastily covered his naked torso. Nines found this to be unnecessary and, quite frankly, disappointing.

“No need to be modest, Detective Reed. I’ve only come to inform you that there’s been another murder.”

Red-faced, Gavin grumpily made a ‘humpf’ sound, “Well damn, when you put it like that...” He let the shirt fall to the floor before turning to grab a new one out of the dresser.

Nines took the opportunity to glance around the room, noting a few polaroids sticking out of the frame of the mirror next to him. One of them, a photo of Tina and Gavin both smiling into the camera, caught his eye.

The corners of his lips turned up involuntarily.

“So who was it this time, Tin Can? Young girl walking alone at night? Loner meth head guy living on the streets?”

Nines tore his eyes from the polaroids to answer, but hesitated when they finally settled on the detective’s back.

Gavin, still turned away, didn’t seem to notice, “Not that it matters, I guess. It’s always some poor fucker caught in the wrong place at the wrong time” He chuckled humorlessly, but other than that, the room was eerily quiet.

The android couldn’t seem to find the words to form an appropriate response, eyes zeroed in on the shocking lines of color marking Gavin’s shoulder.

“Y-You have a tattoo.”

Gavin faltered in his movements, caught unawares by the sudden statement. He turned around slowly, already squinting suspiciously at Nines, “And? You got a problem with that?”

Nines frowned at the tone, “Of course not, I’m simply...surprised. You’ve never mentioned it.”

Gavin snorted, turning back towards his clothes, “It’s not exactly something that casually comes up during a case.”

With the other’s back turned once again, Nines immediately returned to studying the intricate tattoo, before Gavin’s words finally caught up to him.

Nines realized that he and Gavin had only really talked while on a case. This dynamic had always worked for the pair. It had worked _extremely_ well for their productivity, but Nines couldn’t help feeling like they’d been missing out on something more.

Gavin paused, letting out a deep sigh, “Are you sure Cyberlife didn’t give you laser vision? I can feel you burning a hole straight through me.” He paused when there was no answer, “Nines?”

The detective turned around curiously, only to jump back in surprise.

“Jesus! Christ, we need to put a bell on you.”

Nines had approached to get a closer look, but gingerly took a step back, “I apologize. I was just...”

The pair blinked at one another. The awkwardness was palpable in a way that even had Nines cringing inwardly.

In the end, Gavin was the one to nervously look away. He fussed with the piles of clothes on his dresser, attempting to look busy.

Nines was unsure of how to proceed. He mentally cursed humanity and it’s strange social rules. Why did it feel so unacceptable to simply say what he wanted? If only there was a way to—

“You can look. If you want.”

The words were said carefully, almost nervous. Shaky and unsure.

_Caution_.

“I do not wish to make you uncomfortable—“

“Nines. It’s _okay_. It’s not like I’m gonna blow up if you touch me.”

A pause. More unbearable silence.

“Can I?”

“What?”

“Touch you. Can I?”

Nines couldn’t see the detectives face, but the muscles on his back visibly tensed. How curious.

“S-Sure.” 

_Permission granted_.

The tattoo was nothing like Nines would have expected Gavin to have. He doubted anyone would be able to predict the mass of swirling flowers decorating Gavin’s shoulder.

Dahlias, Anemones, Hydrangeas, Lilacs, Roses and _so many more_ were patterned in a colorful bouquet on Gavin’s skin. His mind whirred at the sudden influx of information, as the Latin names and native locations of each species popped up in front of him. He spent what felt like hours mapping the painted skin.

And that was all before he even attempted to touch the tattoo.

With a mere caress he was flooded with more data picked up through physical contact, from the specific brand of ink used to the exact ingredients used to make it. For a brief moment, Nines was _overwhelmed_. His LED spun red.

Gavin, who had been leaning on his hands against the dresser, turned his head to fix a concerned glance on the android.

“You okay there? You blue-screening on me?”

Nines pulled his hand back, noting the goosebumps trailing down Gavin’s arm. 

He took a deep, _deep_ breath.

“It’s beautiful.” He spoke softly, in a puff of air.

At that, Gavin looked noticeably flustered.

“Whatever. It...It was a dare, anyway.”

“Really?” _Doubt_.

A sigh, “Okay, no, it wasn’t. I just,” Gavin averted his attention back to his clothes, “thought it looked nice.”

In an unexpected lapse of self-control, Nines found his hand returning to rest on Gavin’s shoulder. He thumbed the tattoo gently, unconsciously warming the cool skin while he tried to figure out what was so pleasing about it.

Perhaps because it revealed something about Gavin that Nines assumed was rarely seen by anyone else.

Gavin shivered.

Nines smirked.

“Detective, I never thought you could be so…soft.”

Gavin’s face was the same shade as the rose decorating his shoulder.

The android was fully grinning at that point.

“I hate it when you’re happy.” Gavin hissed, pushing his way past Nines. The smug android managed to snap a photo of the tattoo before Gavin disappeared through the doorway. A door slammed, and the sound of a sink turning on could be heard.

“We have a case, detective, remember?” Nines shouted into the hall, picking up the discarded shirt from the ground and tossing it effortlessly into a hamper across the room. On his way out of the bedroom, he paused to look at the polaroid of Gavin and Tina, “It’s a bad one!” He hollered absentmindedly.

Amusingly, Nines could hear the sink turn off and the bathroom door open once again. He stepped into the hall, spotting Gavin’s still-flushed face glaring at him from the bathroom.

“How bad is it?”

“We found a body.”

“We always find bodies.”

“Well yes, but they usually have heads attached to them.”

Gavin groaned in revulsion, swinging back into the bathroom and loudly shutting the door.

Smirking, Nines made his way back to the living area, and was greeted once again by the grey cat, who had taken its place on the corner of the couch. It guardedly watched Nines as he approached, but bumped its head into his hand as the android went to pet it.

The soft smile never left his face, even as Gavin demanded that they stop to get coffee before work.

—————

Later on, Nines would be plagued by memories of severed heads and other terrible reminders of everything he's witnessed. He was relieved to find that visions of colorful flowers and fluffy grey cats could save him from the worst of it.


End file.
